Trimtab Space Camp 2021 ‒ A Framework for Change

“The future is a choice between Utopia and oblivion.” — R. Buckminster Fuller


Trimtab Space Camp focuses on Design Science where you will hear from experts in the fields of Rapid Prototyping, Biomimicry, Indigenous Environmental Science and Design Thinking.

R. Buckminster Fuller was an American visionary without boundaries. Affectionally, called Bucky by many, he saw the trimtab as a metaphor for effective individual initiative, where small and strategically placed interventions can produce large-scale changes.

Trimtab Epitaph - Buckminster Fuller
A fitting epitaph on Fuller’s gravesite in Cambridge, Massachusetts reads “Call me trimtab.”

A trimtab is a small mini-rudder attached to the trailing edge of the larger rudder of a ship. When the captain steers the ship in a new direction, the very first thing to move is the trimtab, which exerts enough pressure to move the larger rudder, which then moves the entire ship.

As we look around at crumbling old world systems and methodologies, astute observers take note that we are in a critical time in earth’s history where the survival of the human species hangs in delicate equilibrium. In Fuller’s words, “The clutch is in ‒ will we shift up or down? It’s Utopia or Oblivion.”

Fuller maintained a lifelong principled commitment to finding solutions that work for the benefit of all life. Fundamental to that principle, is an understanding of the interdependence that humans have with each other and their environment.

What is Fuller’s Design Science?

Buckminster Fuller’s Design Science approach is an integrated discipline beginning with a few underlying assumptions about the world ‒ that every individual is an integral part of the universe and a participant in its evolution. Fuller’s Design Science fosters a whole systems approach.

Design Science uses the latest technology to heal our ecology, empowering humans to live in balance with Nature. Design Science must be feasible, verifiable, replicable and able to withstand practical testing. It’s an ecologically responsible problem-solving design strategy that considers long-term impacts ‒ an understanding of what it means to be ecologically responsible.

“You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.” — R. Buckminster Fuller

BFI Design Science -Trimtab Space Camp

About Trimtab Space Camp

Trimtab Space Camp is a recurring 4-5 week online course designed by world-class teachers. All modules are recorded for convenient future access. Trimtab Space Camp focuses on framing the next ten years of global transformation by assisting participants to realize their role as contributors in solving some of the most pressing issues facing our planet.

What to Expect

In the tradition of Buckminster Fuller’s problem-solving Design Science methodology, students at Trimtab Space Camp learn how to think like Nature by seeking out examples to help design a world that works for all. Within a community of like-minded planetary peers, participants discover cognitive tools for solving many global challenges through comprehensive hands-on training.

It’s never too late to Join Trimtab Space Camp! The most recent Design Science Redux goes until June 9th, 2021 ‒ upcoming trainings expected, to be announced in the near future. During this critical moment of human history it’s an unprecedented opportunity to become a Trimtab!

“May we all serve as trimtabs at this critical moment of human history.” — Andrew Ungerleider